EFG International AG Buys New Shares in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

EFG International AG purchased a new position in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 40,587 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,424,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in Granite Construction by 512.8% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 239 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Granite Construction by 1,417.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 516 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Granite Construction news, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,057,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,199,967. This trade represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carlos M. Hernandez bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $123.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,596.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $624,041.67. This represents a 8.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 1,150 shares of company stock valued at $156,636 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Granite Construction Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GVA opened at $122.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of -28.38 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $132.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.92. Granite Construction Incorporated has a twelve month low of $97.26 and a twelve month high of $162.08.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by ($0.09). Granite Construction had a negative net margin of 3.32% and a positive return on equity of 27.83%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is -12.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GVA. Stephens began coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $139.00 to $119.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Granite Construction from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Granite Construction from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.50.

Granite Construction Company Profile

Granite Construction Inc is a publicly traded heavy civil contractor and construction materials producer based in Watsonville, California. The company specializes in delivering large-scale infrastructure projects for government and private clients, focusing on the development, rehabilitation and maintenance of transportation, water resource and industrial facilities. Its turnkey solutions span the full project lifecycle, from preconstruction and design-build to construction management and facilities maintenance.

In its construction segment, Granite undertakes highway and bridge building, airport runway and taxiway construction, marine terminal and port improvements, dam and reservoir projects, transit systems and underground utilities.